Motor Trend Review: The 2022 Rivian R1T Is the Most Remarkable Pickup We’ve Ever Driven

[DavidStHubbins]

Curb weight 7,000 pounds

Might be enough weight to properly handle towing a 10,000+ pound Travel Trailer!

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[DuckTruck]

The lack of any apparent lighting is a real bummer. That's gonna be a huge pain when trying to find something at night. And agreed that the logo looked sweet.

EDIT: Looked at the photos again and there DOES appear to be some lights in the Good lighting is is really critical front corners of the Frunk. Still looks kinda cheap compared to the original vehicles, but at least it's functional.

Cohall,

The original would have been nice, and I agree that having good lighting up front will make life a lot easier. I already picked up a 3-pack of the the pictured Duracell lights from Costco. I think the pack was under $40. I can Jerry-rigg one to be available at all times up front without bouncing around, while keeping another in the cabin, and one in the Gear Tunnel. With their kickstand, they work well for all kinds of needs. At least it's a good solution that doesn't cost much.

 

[RivianBowerbird]

There was more talk then there should have been about the 2wd and weather it was FWD or not but the intro to the MT vid shows RWD only to me.

That's called drift mode.

 

[Temerarius]

On the plus side, I just spoke to CS and they've said that Alexa/Amazon integration can be entirely disabled, so that's nice. They wouldn't address configuring or disabling Rivian's own access to your vehicle (telemetrics, cameras, etc.) though. Sounds like that's out.

I wouldn't expect you to have control over those, that's how they can both spot issues and can troubleshoot them without you having to come into the Service Center when it's broken.

Tesla is the same.

An example of this, when I first got my Tesla, I noticed that occasionally, the AutoPilot would be a little wonky and not engage when I asked it to. I didn't think much of it as it tended to do it in the rain and it wasn't a consistent issue. However, after about 2 weeks of playing with AP and using it I got a text message from Tesla saying they had been tracking an issue with my AP as reported by my car's telemetry and health monitoring systems and told me they wanted me to come in to have it fixed. Turns out, the radar was misaligned slightly, causing the car to not always have "the needed data to engage", and the car was reporting this to Tesla.

I had no idea, but because the car was reporting the issue, Tesla knew about it, had been monitoring it, troubleshot the issue and were able to notify me before it became an issue. So, instead of having an issue and then dropping it off at the Service Center for an unknown amount of time, when I pulled in, the techs already had a good idea of what was wrong, where to look, and what parts to have on hand. I was in and out in an hour.

It's also how they will (in theory) move your soft cap up on range/access to battery levels.

 

[DavidStHubbins]

Something like this maybe? I don't have an RV, but maybe is a good tradeoff of complexity vs cost for the people who were planing on towing the truck.

WOW! 7,000 pound vehicle ... That would be one heck of a tow dolly! Wonder if those manufacturers are up for designing and making that one

 

[DuckTruck]

Great info, thanks. You make a good point about messing around with the integration of the sound system into the Rivian platform. I'm used to cars that have essentially useless integrations, like the old OEM nav systems that you have to update by buying a CD and loading it =D

Funny, but your comment reminded me that I have old Blaupunkt, Craig, Pioneer, and Kenwood car stereos and speakers buried in my garage on a shelf somewhere. The Pioneer is on one of those old sliding, under-dash racks that allow it to be removed by me, rather than a thief, every time I get out of my old Corvair, without having to put up the top. I haven't driven that car since 1988, and I'm not sure where my cassettes are, but I know the stereo is safe! ?

 

[R1TFTW]

I've liked the auto wipers in my last several vehicles. Just because Tesla can't figure it out doesn't mean Rivian won't.

I hate auto wipers. I either use rainX or ceramic coat if long term vehicle. Neither needs wipers really at all. Even in the harshest conditions. I live in FL and have driven through some serious rain and not even need wipers with those option. When the auto wipers come on drives me crazy.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I hate auto wipers. I either use rainX or ceramic coat if long term vehicle. Neither needs wipers really at all. Even in the harshest conditions. I live in FL and have driven through some serious rain and not even need wipers with those option. When the auto wipers come on drives me crazy.

 

[svet-am]

I dont doubt @R1TFTW . When I used to live in Mississippi, I could omit my wipers entirely even in tropical storm rains. Snow and freezing ice/sleet, though, is a completely different beast.

 

[Florida Boy]

Also a concern.

Once upon a time, Rivian was going to use an electrochromic roof, so that would have provided the best of both scenarios -- light for night use, and dark for day use. Unfortunately, that feature was scrapped (I believe "cost" was the reason given). Since the headliner/roof was never intended to have a shade screen, Rivian had to make a choice. Redesign a bunch of parts, have a normal piece of glass that will basically cook people half the year, or tint the glass so dark that it can handle the sun, but risk making it essentially-opaque at night.

I would have loved to see the electrochromic remain -- even as a paid option. Alternatively, I wish they had put a little more design work to integrate a motorized shade. But actually, I wish they used a more traditional panoramic roof that opens, like almost every other manufacturer.

I'd have to find the response, but I believe they said it would be incorporated into future models.

 

[R1TFTW]

Doubt all you want… It is the truth. It doesn’t bother me if you choose to live in ignorance. It also doesn’t matter what you “doubt”. It doesn’t change the fact. I will take my superior visibility. Lately it has been raining almost every day from one storm or another. RainX lasts quite a while but ceramic for much longer. It works and makes my life easier.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Doubt all you want… It is the truth. It doesn’t bother me if you choose to live in ignorance. It also doesn’t matter what you “doubt”. It doesn’t change the fact. I will take my superior visibility. Lately it has been raining almost every day from one storm or another. RainX lasts quite a while but ceramic for much longer. It works and makes my life easier.

If you think you don't ever need to use your wipers even in serious rain then THAT is ignorance.

 

[Eager2own]

If you think you don't ever need to use your wipers even in serious rain then THAT is ignorance.

I agree that never is a bit strong, but I can say I rarely need wipers with RainX.
Side note: UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters have terrible / useless wipers. As a pilot I really valued crew chiefs who would consistently treat the windscreens with RainX. I’ve used it since my Army days many many years ago.
2nd side note: having said all that, I too am a huge fan of and have no issue with rain-sensing wipers. I set mine to the lowest sensitivity on my Panamera (particularly to account for times I wasn’t particularly diligent about having applied RainX in months), and I can’t remember that I ever had to manually operate the wipers.

 

[Max]

After hearing it in person, I think you'd be hard pressed to improve on it, at any cost. Also, with the integration of everything, I'd be reluctant to even try. Depending on where you live and play, I wouldn't want to give up the ventilated front seats of the Launch/Adventure package (or any of the other goodies) either. It was really nice to flip the switch and have the heat of the Midwest disappear in moments.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Did you or anyone in your group experience the truck with standard tires and standard audio under the same conditions?

Did you notice if it has a trailer break controller?

 

[ja_kub_sz]

Again, in my old Lincoln MKZ Hybrid they were way ahead of the curve (hepatic touch locations, not buttons) which many auto makers (mainly luxury ones) started to copy, as Lincoln abandoned it.

I would like to see something like this if I could change or wish anything different with the R1T.

It would still keep the buttonless esthetic, but save some of the screen and repeat button redundancy. Like some hepatic locations on the wheel and below the center screen, or maybe even a pad to the left of the gauge screen akin to what the new Escalade has.

I know I'll get used to hit, but doesn't mean I'll like it ?... Probably will ?

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